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Ticket office has tall playoff task

Despite the cold, Bengals fans get wild at Paul Brown Stadium. The ticket office is hoping more fans will attend next week’s playoff game. The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger
(Photo: Jeff Swinger, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

The Bengals ticket office was able to celebrate one milestone when it was announced that Sunday’s game against Baltimore has been declared a sellout and will be aired on local TV. However, it faces a tall task when it comes to the first playoff game.

According to Director of Sales and Public Affairs Jeff Berding, 10,000-15,000 tickets remain available for the playoff game, which is why the push to start selling has ramped up the past couple of days.

“We’re very excited about how the team played. It has made it easier. The fans have been supportive but we’ve undergone some extraordinary efforts to get there,” Berding said. “We appreciate the fans and in some cases our business partners in a big way. We got all eight sold out and on TV. We are happy with that, but it is tempered by the fact that there’s going to be a game nine and we have a very sizable task in getting it sold out.”

The last time the Bengals had a large amount of inventory to sell in a tight window was the 2011 finale against Baltimore. Back then, the team offered a buy one, get one free deal for season-ticket holders. That season half the home games had attendance under 45,000.

The Ravens game started a run where 15 of the last 17 regular-season games have sold out, including 10 straight. Because the league sets ticket prices for playoff games, the Bengals are unable to offer deals. Prices are $86-$96 for a wild card game on Jan. 4-5 and $95-$104 in the divisional round Jan. 11-12.

Playoff tickets may be purchased online through Ticketmaster or by phone at 800-745-3000. Tickets also may be purchased through the Bengals Ticket Hotline at 513-621-3550, or at 866-621-8383 (TDTD). Additionally, tickets may be purchased at the Paul Brown Stadium ticket office during business hours or at Bengals.com.

PRO BOWLING: The Pro Bowl teams will be announced Friday night. The game setup changed this year with the players being selected as an overall group and Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders each drafting a team.

The draft will take place Jan. 22 in Hawaii and the game Jan. 26.

Overall selections are made with the votes of fans, coaches and players each counting for a third of the total.

A.J. Green ranked second in fan voting at wide receiver and 10th overall. He’ll likely become the 16th Bengals player with three or more selections.

Another possible selection is linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who leads the NFL in tackles. He’s the only Bengal besides Green to rank in the top 10 at his position in fan votes. He’s listed 10th as a middle linebacker.

Andrew Whitworth went to his first Pro Bowl last year and could return this year, partially due to his unselfish move to sacrifice individual accolades as a left tackle and move to guard.

The NFL Network will release the selections at 9 p.m.

GRUDEN ON RUMORS: When Black Monday for NFL coaches takes place following Week 17, a number of coordinators will be mentioned for their first head coaching jobs. Two of those head the Bengals’ offense and defense.

If the Bengals managed a bye, opposing teams could contact them immediately. They would have to wait one more week should Cincinnati play the opening weekend of the playoffs.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be one of the most mentioned guys. There are a lot of great coordinators out there. Hell, we’ve got one on our staff right now that should be mentioned. The only thing I’m worried about is winning games here, winning the playoffs here, then after the season we’ll read the newspapers and see who’s hot and who’s not. Just finish the season and have some fun and whatever happens, happens.”

Burfict worked as part of the early walkthrough without a helmet during the 30 minutes of practice open to the media.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham was downgraded from limited Tuesday to not participating Thursday. Causing more drama at the tight end position, Alex Smith popped up on Thursday’s injury report as limited with a concussion. ?